Chapter Twenty-Three
Grunt Work
Normandy Park
South Downtown, Seattle
April 22, 2059
1:25 am
Officer Biggs took one last drag on his cigarette before tossing it into a cup of socaf. The cigarette butt made a hissing sound as it came into contact with the black liquid. A thin wisp of smoke rose from the cup.
"Drek, Biggs." Jacob Meir cursed his partner. "I wasn't finished with that!"
"So what?" Biggs groaned. "If I'm going to get busted down to security guard I'm at least going to be comfortable." Biggs was a large man with thinning black hair and a healthy appetite. He could chew his way through a box of donuts without thinking twice. Crumbs and greasy fingers were all that he would leave behind. Biggs was overweight thanks to his eating habit.
Jacob sneered at his partner. He turned back to his monitors. "I can't believe you arrested that girl on Yamatetsu soil."
"Listen, Jake, I don't give a frag about corporate extraterritorial rights. That girl was driving while drunk. Hell, she had more booze in her bloodstream than blood. She ran two lights and bounced off a tour bus. That's reckless driving and endangering lives in my book."
"I wish you had waited until after she had wondered off their lawn."
"How was I suppose to know that Yamatetsu owned that place? She didn't look like a corporate executive."
"Yamatetsu provided information about her identity."
"Yamatetsu can provide information that my butt is green for all I care." Biggs spat. "They can make up whatever story they want. How the hell are we expect to do our jobs if these megacorps keep fragging with us?"
"I'm not sure, but I don't think the chief is keen to find out. With the legal expenses you-" Jacob paused for a moment once he saw the look that Biggs was giving him. "That we incurred, we're lucky to have a job at all."
Biggs laughed at that. A heavy chuckle that carried throughout the small room. Biggs laughed so hard that the noise drew the attention of the guard dogs whom started to bark. "A job? We may still have our job, but we got busted down in rank and in pay. We're not much better than scum on the toilet."
The dogs continued to bark madly. Biggs could hear them through the opened window.
"Shaddup you stupid mutts!" He screamed at the infernal creatures.
The CB attached to Jacob's belt stuttered to life. "Don't call my babies stupid, Biggs!" A voice crackled in.
The voice belongs to Jerry Thornton. He wasn't a real Lone Star officer. He was an animal handler. To be more specific, he handled guard dogs. He also took great pride in breeding some of the most vicious animals around. It was an art to him. In Jerry's opinion, a good guard dog was one that could chew the tire off a car. Each one of Jerry's dogs had to achieve such a feat before he rented the animal out. Jerry accomplished this ferocity in his animals through several means. Means that included bad food, a manufactured strain of Rabies, steroids, cybernetic modification, and inbreeding. The resulting animal was sometimes difficult for even Jerry to control. Not that Jerry cared. The harder the animal was to keep, the better it was to him.
"Give my that." Biggs snatched Jacob's CB. "Listen to me you stupid redneck, inbred warmonger." Biggs cursed at Jerry. "I'll call those mutts anything I please! They look like they were beaten with an ugly stick! For that matter they look like your nasty, inbred sister!"
"Don't talk about my puppies that way!" Jerry snapped back over the CB.
"Those dogs aren't worth the drek that comes out their rear."
"Come down here and say that!"
Biggs sat up. "You don't want none of me, hick. I'll come down there and shove that damn dog up your ass."
The CB crackled with static.
"Did you hear me, Jerry?"
There was no response. Only static. Outside dogs could be heard barking. Biggs spared a glance out the open window before trying to raise Jerry again.
"Answer me you hick."
"Maybe you hurt his feelings?" Jacob suggested.
"That thick-headed fool doesn't have feelings." Biggs countered. "Hell, his dogs probably chewed his nuts off."
Jacob shrugged at that. He knew that Biggs was under a lot of stress. Jerry Thornton had not helped matters any. Ever since the two of them had been transferred Jerry was a source of constant irritation for Biggs.
"Jerry?" Biggs said into the CB. The barking from the dogs was starting to get annoying. "Answer me, Jerry, and shut those dogs up."
Again there was no response.
"Sounds like Jerry is rattling your chain." Jacob commented with only partial interest. He had turned his attention to a magazine, leaving Biggs to his own devices.
"I'll go rattle him." Biggs unlocked a case and removed his pistol and stun baton. He slid the pistol into a holster on his belt after making sure the safety was on. The stun baton fit snugly into its clip. "Jerry knows I hate making rounds cause of his mutts. I swear I'll twist his scrawny little neck off for this."
Biggs unlocked the door and stepped out into the cold night air. The wind blew a few pages in Jacob's magazine. The wind also gave Jacob a shiver.
"Don't let him get to you." Jacob added just before Biggs shut the door.
Outside Biggs straightened his jacket, turning the collar up. "Jerry better hope I don't get to him." Biggs cursed before heading towards the warehouse.
The guard house was at the gate of the impound. A fence surrounded the warehouse. It was laced with monowire and had a mild electric charge running through it. Though the electricity was there primarily to keep the guard dogs from chewing on the fence.
"Where are you, Jerry?" Biggs fumbled for his flashlight. "Come out so I can whoop you!"
The was no response. Biggs tried the CB again, but he did not have any luck. Jerry did not answer him. The dogs could be heard barking in the distance. That gave Biggs a reason to suspect a prank on Jerry's behalf.
"Okay, Jerry." Biggs cursed as he headed towards the warehouse. "I'm coming for you."
Biggs crossed the outside of the warehouse. He figured that as long as he was out he might as well make his rounds. There was no way that Jerry was going to make him waste his time. The windows were all intact. So was the main door. Biggs made a mental note of it. He'd have to fill out his clipboard when he got back to the guard house.
One of Jerry's dogs appeared at the end of the warehouse. Biggs could barely make out the shape of the critter in the dim light. It disappeared around the corner before Biggs could say anything.
"So that's where Jerry's hiding." Biggs jogged to the end of the warehouse. He fulled expected to see Jerry there ready to jump out and scare him. Well, Biggs thought, let's see how much Jerry likes a stun baton up his ass.
The dog started barking insanely. Almost like it was upset about something. Snarls and snaps followed the barking. Biggs picked up the pace hoping to catch Jerrry in the act of beating one of his rabid animals. At least it would give Biggs something to joke about for the next few days. The dog's barking stopped just before Biggs rounded the corner.
"Stupid dog." Biggs muttered as he trotted around the corner. He expected to see Jerry standing there laughing at him. That sight did not greet him, though. Instead he found the prone form of the animal that Biggs had seen just moments ago. The dog's head was bent at an impossible angle, suggesting that its neck had been broken.
"What the-?" Biggs stuttered as he pulled his pistol. A sharp sting suddenly bit at his neck. He slapped at the discomfort like it was a mosquito. However, his hand pulled a small dart out of his skin. He stared at the small object for a second, but a second was all that he had. In moments his vision blurred and he passed out.
Biggs hit the ground as a figure stepped out of the shadows.
"Not very bright for a Lone Star boy." Gideon grumbled, flexing the metal arm that the orkish mercenary had used to snap the dog's neck.
"Lucky for us." Nightsky replied as he dropped from the roof on a grapple line. He holstered the small nacroject pistol as he touched the ground.
"I'll get this breeder out of sight." Gideon grabbed Biggs by the arms and dragged him towards a dumpster. "You take care of the door. Lenny should have the guardhouse under wraps by now."
1:38 am
"Where are you guys?" Jacob said to himself as he scanned the camera feeds. The only thing that he saw was deserted scenes in black and white. Occasionally he could catch a glimpse of movement. Sometimes it was one of Jerry's dogs scampering around. Other times the motion looked like a flicker in the shadows. It was often impossible to make out, so Jacob dismissed it as the wind.
Jacob was beginning to get worried. He had seen the dogs on the cameras. However, he did not see Jerry or Biggs. Jerry always tried to keep his animals close by. To see them running around at random was unusual. Since he could see either of the two men, it made Jacob suspicious. Perhaps they had gotten into a fist fight? Thought would only add another tarnish to Jacob's record for not reporting it.
Why does Biggs have to make things so hard, Jacob thought to himself. Biggs was so uncaring at times. It was the main reason why he had failed to make detective.
Jacob's back was to the door. He heard it open with a creak. The door was at least twenty years old. When it shut it did not do so quietly. The old frame creaked like it was being tortured before the door slammed against it.
"Biggs?" Jacob called over his shoulder without turning. "What happened to you? I was beginning to wonder if you and Jerry got in some kind of pissing contest." Jacob slowly turned only to meet a foot smashing into his face. Jacob spun out of his chair, hitting his head on the video display. "Hey!" He screamed, holding his aching head.
Jacob looked up to see a sinister looking man with an insane smile on his face. There was a metal button on the man's coat that read: "Have a Nice Day." The man held a menacing looking pistol at Jacob's head. It looked like a type of Manhunter, but with a bulky smartlink mounted below the barrel.
"Say goodnight, Gracie." The man sneered.
Jacob froze with fear, but his training took over where his rational mind failed. He kicked the rolling chair he had been sitting in towards the man's knees. The chair made the man stumble, but he pulled the trigger on the gun. The bullet smashed onto of the screens at the desk.
The smiling man became a frenzy of hate. He sprouted curses and profanities as he grabbed the chair and flung it through a window. He did so with a speed that no natural man could have matched.
Jacob knew that he was in trouble. He scrambled to his feet and attempted to free his firearm from its holster. Unfortunately Jacob did not make it far.
The smiling man put a boot into Jacob's chest when he tried to stand. This slammed Jacob back to the floor. The back of his head hit hard, sending sparks into his vision. A stomp on his chest fractured a rib. Jacob immediately had trouble breathing, feeling a aching pain where his ribs and been injured.
"Big mistake, drekhead." The smiling man sounded like he was enjoying himself.
Jacob managed to unhook the stun baton from his belt. He brought it up and triggered the device at the inside of the smiling man's thigh. The man let out a howl as the electric charge surged through him. He crumbled onto a desk. A look of pure hate criss-crossed his features.
Jacob darted for the desk and the Panicbutton. If he could set off the alarm he would have backup on site withing minutes. He reached his arm out to hit the red button before the man could recover.
"I don't think so!" The smiling man leveled his gun. The Manhunter boomed once an the bullet blew through Jacob's hand, splattering blood and tissue over the desktop. A second boom clipped Jacob in the torso, punching through his lung. The lung collapsed instantly making Jacob gasp for breath. He collapsed and promptly passed out.
"Smiley." Shard said from the door. "Don't you ever do anything quietly?" The officer was down and bleeding. A common result that Smiley often produced. Shard was not as readily violent. She left the animal handler along with one of his pets unconscious with a spell.
Smiley regarded her with wild eyes. "I like what I do and what I do ain't pretty."
Shard frowned at the samurai's response. She tip-toed over the prone officer. She found the controls for the main gate. Just after she opened the gate she accessed her commlink.
"Riggs, Glitch." She said into the device. "The gate is open."
Another voice came over the channel. This one was from Lenny.
"Lenny here." Lenny reported. "Nightsky has got the door opened. Pull to the loading dock and let's get this over with."
Out in the warehouse Nightsky felt like he had found the lost Ark. The massive building was filled to the bursting point with all kinds of impounded goods. He had caught a glimpse of it before when he saw the manifest that Tart had downloaded. It was only words on paper then. Now it was physical. The sheer quantity was enough to make Nightsky look own in awe.
Nightsky was a thief when he wasn't running the shadows. He broke into homes and stole cars. He accepted small time jobs that required breaking and entry. The rewards were small compared to what he could get for a shadowrun. Because of this the warehouse felt like the mother load. He had managed to suppress his greed before when Lenny was around. Now it was even more difficult.
"I'll open the doors on the loading dock." Lenny said. "Make a round and make sure none of those dogs are still hanging around."
Nightsky shook the thoughts of greed out of his head. "I hate dogs, Lenny."
"Then get rid of them." Lenny replied as he started off.
"Get rid of them?" He said to himself as Lenny disappeared behind a stack of crates. "Sure, I'll get rid of them." He paused, pulling out a small sheet of plastic paper. The paper had various stock numbers on it. Numbers that Nightsky had gotten from the warehouse's manifest. "I'll get rid of them and some other things too."
Lenny made it to the door by the loading dock without incident. He expected to run into another guard dog, but he did not. It took him a few minutes to find the controls for the door. Machinery whined overhead as the heavy steel doors slide open. Outside two vehicles had backed into place. They moved in as the door opened. One was the Bison with Riggs at the helm. The dwarf had popped the Bison's turret up. The rotating barrels of the minigun twinkled in the moonlight. The second was a large tractor trailer. Glitch drove this vehicle. He backed it in as far as it would go.
Lens, Glitch's partner, hopped out of the passenger's side. She had a sheet of paper in her hand that held the call numbers for the transmitter.
"You guys aren't all talk after all." The orkish woman grinned at Lenny. "Where's the rest of your little group?"
"Around." Lenny replied. "Let's get the transmitter."
"Okay, honey." She pointed towards a small vehicle in the corner. "We'll need that lift."
On the other side of the warehouse a dog barked uncontrollably. It raved and howled like a mad animal. Nightsky nearly lost his head because of the crazed beast. He hated dogs. Now more than ever. The adept bounced off a wall of crates and scampered out of the animal's reach A moment slower and the demonic canine could have bitten off something vital.
Nightsky cursed as the mutt snapped at him. He was high enough so that the dog couldn't reach him. The only thing the mutt was doing was snapping his teeth at empty space, which seemed to make the dog content.
"Lenny, I told you I hate dogs." Nightsky leveled his HK227 and put a suppressed burst into the critter. Killing the animal didn't feel wrong. In fact it felt a lot better than killing a person.
"But that's okay, Lenny." He hopped off the crate once he was sure the mutt was dead. He pulled out the paper with the call numbers on it. It only took a moment to match the numbers with the crates. "Cause I'm right where I want to be."
1:38 am
Back in the guard house things were quiet and subdued. At least until a trembling hand clattered against the desk. Blood dripped from pale fingers as Jacob focused all of his willpower into pulling himself up. His body was racked with pain and torment. Blackness swam like angels at the corner of his vision. The dark had overcome him once already. Loss of blood had driven him unconscious.
Jacob was awake for now. Though he did not know for how much longer. The next time he blacked out might be for good. His left hand was a bloody mess. The pain was excruciating. Breathing had become a horrendous task. Every breath that Jacob took felt like he was lifting a two-hundred pound weight with his chest.
Jacob's vision turned to a blur. He shook his head in an attempt to regain his senses. Slowly his eyes centered on a large, red button on the corner of the desk. He reached out with his good hand. It took all of his strength, but Jacob knew that if he did not reach that button he would die here. No sooner had he depressed the button than he passed out.
The button blinked red, pulsating after if had been activated. A single word was illuminated on the buttons surface. It read: PANICBUTTON.
Like this chapter? Then go on to the NEXT CHAPTER. Had enough of this story? Try going back to the Fiction Index and find something else. Thoughts, rants, comments? Email me and tell what you thought about it.